Stakeholders
in the telecom industry in Nigeria yesterday gave reasons why the well advertised
auction of the 2.6 (GHz) spectrum did not attract the much anticipated
attention.

This they
stated at a well attended stakeholders forum organized by the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) at the Lagos Sheraton yesterday.

The event
which was attended by big time industry players, consumers, media executives as
well as management team of the NCC was organized to look at the grey areas noticed
at the auction bid and to proffer solutions on the way forward.

Most of
them blamed the current unpredictable investment climate, free fall in naira
value and the punitive cost of the spectrum as the major reasons.

The NCC
had advertised the availability of 14 slotsi n the 2.6GHz spectrum for
operators to bid for in an auction. It set a reserve price of $16milion for a
slot of the frequency of the spectrum.

One lot or
slot of the frequency is made up of two portions of 5megahertz (MHz).

Only MTN
expressed interest in the process.The telco paid a total of $96million
(N19.2billion) for the licence – a cumulative 30MHz in the 2.6GHz frequency.
Disturbed by the development, NCC CEO, Prof Umar Dambatta promised to convene a
forum to do a post-mortem which held yesterday at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

Speaking
on the occasion, its Director, Spectrum Administration, Austin Nwaulune
lamented that the response to the auction process of the legacy spectrum “fell
below expectation” necessitating the forum. He urged the carriers to speak out
on the way forward.

Spectranet
CEO, David Venn, said the process was skewed in favour of the telco that had
the ‘deep pocket’, arguing that the ‘beauty contest’ model appeared to be less
transparent.

He said
while the success of the global system for mobile communication (GSM)
revolution was driven by the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI),
much more funding was needed to push broadband revolution.

He said
the cost of the spectrum was on the high side, lamenting that the cost of
deployment was another challenge, especially now that the investment climate
has become so unpredictable. He urged the regulator to explore revenue sharing
formula.

Director,
External Affairs at ntel, Osondu Nwokoro said the foreign currency element of
the bid price was a big challenge. According to him, some years ago, the naira
exchanged for N250 to a dollar. He said it currently exchanges for N500. He
urged the Commission to look into how it can provide a ‘hedge’ as it has become
difficult to get forex. He agreed no less with Venn that high spectrum cost
constrains roll-out.

Osondu
called for the re-examination of the spectrum management policy. He urged the
NCC to also take second look at the secondary spectrum market, amend the
colocation rule to allow active infrastructure sharing.

Regulatory
and CSR head at Etisalat, IkennaIkeme, said the telecom sector was not
insulated from ongoing economic recession, lamenting that attracting local
funding has been Herculean as the banking industry has also been feeling the
heat. He urged the regulator to explore the use of the Universal Service
Provision Fund (USPF) to assist the operator in this regard.

Represented
by Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, the NCC CEO restated the commitment of
the Commission to ensure the achievement of the 30 per cent target of the
National Broadband Plan.

He said
broadband penetration in the country has improved to over 20 per cent, adding
that the Commission will continue to catalyse growth in the industry through
consistent and predictable regulatory interventions.

At the end of the interaction, the NCC stated that all
the views expressed will be taken to the management team of the Agency for deliberations
and a concrete plan put in place for further auctions.